


after

by rosecoloredvoice (Cookidomo)



Series: The Raven Cycle Tales [1]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Kissing, Love, M/M, Present Tense, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-07-13 23:47:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7143446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cookidomo/pseuds/rosecoloredvoice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>after gansey wakes up- after dying for the second time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	after

**Author's Note:**

> i finished the Raven King just before and I can honestly tell you that i am absolutely WRECKED  
> not because the ending wasn't good,  
> but because I wanted more. I wanted more more more  
> I wanted to read, and hear about their days.  
> I knew it wasn't over for them- even though Glendower was dead, and that quest was over. They still had a lot more journeys to go on.

“Blue?” Gansey whispers as his eyes flutter open. He blinks a few times to focus in on what's in front of him, and he sees Blue standing over him, with her eyebrows knitted in worry.

She lets out the breath she didn't realize she was holding.

“Gansey,” Blue says, her voice hoarse from crying.

Henry Cheng emerges from behind her and offers his hand. “All right, man?”

Gansey takes it. “Yeah,” He manages to say, and Blue looks at him.

He looks right back at her. “Where's Ronan and Adam?”

“Right here.” Gansey hears, and he turns his head towards the car. He wonders why he didn't see them before; they were sprawled across the backseat of the BMW this whole time. The first thing he notices is the tired expression on their faces; even as Ronan sleeps peacefully, breathing _in and out in and out_ , he sees the bags under his eyes and how abnormally pale he seems under the light. The sun's just starting to set.

Then he notices the way they're sitting together; Ronan's leg is draped over Adam's and Adam's other leg over Ronan's. Their legs are so tangled up in each others' that Gansey could _almost_ say that he didn't know where their limbs started and ended. Adam's hands, no longer bound by ribbons, are clutching Ronan's firmly, as if even the slightest loosening of his grip would cause him to slip through his fingers.

“Is he okay?”

“He's just tired.” A beat passes. “Gansey, I...”

“It's fine.” He exhales. “If I hadn't dragged you all into this...”

“ _No,_ ” Gansey hears, and it's factual, not a question. “Don't say that.” Ronan's wide awake now and his voice- his voice is softer than usual and his eyes not as fierce. But his expression is sharp nonetheless. “You fucking started this. _You_ did. We chose to join you.”

There are murmured _yes_ 's of agreement.

“It wasn't all for nothing,” Blue speaks up suddenly. “It wasn't for nothing. Didn't it give us something to search for? To dream and wonder about? There was s _omething more._ ”

And Gansey sighs because he doesn't have anything to say to that; they're right and he knows it. “Then I suppose we should...”

“Get the hell out of here?” Adam supplies helpfully.

“I'm ready to.” Henry adds.

Blue nods in agreement; she knows she needs to get back to the Fox Way.

They all pile into their cars quickly, and speed off onto the highway just as the sun sets.

“Blue,” Gansey says, because it feels too strange to call her _Jane_  after all this has happened. She waits. He has too many things to say, so he just says the first thing that comes to his mind. “That kiss.” He feels her shift from beside her; she's lifting her fingers to her lips.

“It was... _magical_ ,” He says, and it was. It was like kissing magic. It was like touching the core of it with your lips, as if it was tangible. It was like the moments he breathed in the scent of the trees, of the flowers, of the woods. It was tasting demise on your lips, but loving it anyway.

In reply, Blue kisses him. In the backseat. And he kisses her back, smiling pleasantly against her lips. Everything else will be dealt with later.

**Author's Note:**

> //  
> They broke every rule.  
> Every one of them.  
> So why wouldn't they break another one?  
> They were his magicians-  
> They would protect their King.  
> And kings  
> and queens  
> they all were.


End file.
